Robeco joins forces with "City to Sea" in the fight against plastic pollution

As its UK Sustainability Investing Partner, Robeco will work alongside City to Sea to build greater commercial awareness of the issues related to single-use plastics. As part of the partnership, Robeco will actively support City to Sea’s Refill campaign, which offers a solution that should prevent the manufacture of millions of plastic bottles at source. Using technology and grassroots support, Refill aims to make refilling reusable bottles easy, convenient and cheap by introducing refilling stations on as many locations as possible. The campaign now has over 14,000 sites listed in the Refill app which has been downloaded over 80,000 times.

Peter Walsh, Head of Robeco UK said: “We are very pleased to join City to Sea in their fight to prevent marine plastic pollution at source. Together, we have the power to drive change and ensure our oceans, beaches and waterways are protected for generations to come.”

“Robeco has a unique sustainability culture that has evolved over the last 20 years. We are pioneers in Sustainability Investing, launching our first dedicated sustainable fund in 1999. Sustainability is clearly changing countries, markets and companies and it is important that we meet the needs of the present generation without compromising those of generations to come.”

Natalie Fee, Founder, City to Sea added: “City to Sea and our Refill campaigns empower people to stop plastic pollution. We are thrilled that Robeco have joined us to help fight plastic waste. The company’s core values are very much aligned with what we are trying to achieve, and I look forward to working with them.”

Leveraging its position as a leading sustainability asset manager, Robeco is also a signatory to the Plastic Solutions Investor Alliance, an international coalition of investors that engages with publicly traded consumer goods companies on the threat posed by plastic waste and pollution. Robeco recognises the need to reduce single-use plastics and, as a signatory to the alliance, is engaging with large consumer goods producers on plastic reduction.

This partnership is part of a wider initiative by Robeco to align marketing spend to the social and ethical goals of the organisation – identifying projects that deliver positive impact for society, the planet and the group. Robeco will use this partnership to continue to reduce its own single-use plastic consumption and encourage its network of sustainability ambassadors to identify opportunities that make positive changes.